Tales of Berseria
In Association With: Lightstorm Entertainment Troublemaker Studios |publisher = Bandai Namco Entertainment Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment |director = Robert Rodriguez |producer = Lauren Shuler Donner Bryan Singer Rebecca Reynolds Hutch Parker Peter Del Vecho |artist = Mutsumi Inomata Kōsuke Fujishima Minoru Iwamoto Daigo Okumura |designer = Tatsuro Udo |writer = Story: Seth Grahame-Smith Bryan Singer James Cameron Simon Kinberg Dan Harris Screenplay: Simon Kinberg Jennifer Lee David Henry Hwang |composer = Danny Elfman |series = Tales |platforms = PlayStation 3 PlayStation 4 Microsoft Windows |released='PlayStation 3' JP: August 18, 2016 PlayStation 4 JP: August 18, 2016 NA: January 24, 2017 EU: January 27, 2017 Microsoft Windows WW: January 27, 2017 |genre = Role-playing |modes = Single-player, Multiplayer }} is a role-playing video game developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment, Rocksteady Games and WB Games San Francisco in association with Lightstorm Entertainment and Troublemaker Studios and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, and Microsoft Windows. It is the sixteenth main entry in the [[Tales (series)|''Tales series]] and a spin-off/prequel of Tales of Zestiria. It was released in Japan in August 2016, and was released worldwide in January 2017. The game is dedicated to the loving memory of James Horner, Andrew Lesnie and Julie Payne. Gameplay Tales of Berseria is a role-playing video game, where players navigate the game's world through the game's characters from a third-person perspective. As with previous Tales games, characters can interact through Skits, animated clips that play outside cutscenes and battle: characters are represented by head-and-shoulder portraits, and conversations can range from serious to comedic. New to the series' Skit systems is a cut-in effect, where at certain moments within skits characters in various poses will appear in response to the dialogue. As with previous Tales titles, the game uses a variation of the Linear Motion Battle System (LMBS). Berseria s version is dubbed the "Liberation-LMBS": when in the battle zone, players can freely move around the arena and rotate the camera at will. Characters fight using physical and magical attacks, along with performing skills known as Artes that have various effects on enemies such as stunning them or causing status ailments. Artes can be directly mapped to different control buttons. Abilities outside attacking include guarding against attacks, side-stepping around opponents, and escaping from battle. A key element in battles is the Soul Gauge, which replaces the move-governing mechanics of earlier Tales games: each character has a separate gauge showing up to five Souls, which are used up when Artes are used. While characters can still attack with a depleted Soul Gauge, their attacks can be easily deflected by enemies, but the Soul Gauge automatically recharges with time. Souls are dropped by enemies in battle that can be "stolen" to refill the gauge, a mechanic that enemies can also use to steal Souls from the player. If enough of the Soul Gauge is full characters can activate unique states called the Break Soul, where they can exceed their combo limit and bring unique effects into battle: for instance, Velvet's Break Soul triggers her arm to become bestial and different elemental attacks are triggered depending on enemy type. The main party consists of four characters, which can all be assigned as the controlled character during battle, with the other available playable characters held in reserve. While primarily designed for single-player, local multiplayer for battles is supported. A mechanic called the Switch Blast can be used when changing characters: by consuming a portion of the Blast Gauge, the controlled party member switches out for a reserve member, who delivers a free attack. The Blast Gauge is also depleted by performing power attacks called Mystic Artes. Synopsis Setting Berseria takes places in the Holy Midgand Empire, a powerful country that rules over this world's archipelago of a continent. The game's world is shared with Tales of Zestiria, although the events occur 1000 years before the latter. There are countless numbers of islands around, and Midgand's rule crosses even the seas. Areas of land and islands in the game are divided into "territories." Along with humans, one of the other main races is the Malakhim (singular: Malak), supernatural spirits whose wills are sealed and used by humans as slaves to utilize their magical abilities after being made visible to even normal humans due to the Advent, an incident 3 years prior to Velvet's escape from her prison. Throughout the empire, a disease known as Daemonblight causes those infected to lose their humanity and sense of rationality and transform into monsters known as Daemons, who pose a threat to the world. Along with the rulers of the Holy Midgand Empire exists a theocratic order known as the Abbey, who are of great political and religious importance and are influential in imperial affairs. The Exorcists, soldiers from the Abbey, are tasked with bringing peace and order by purging the world of Daemons and are willing to go to extremes to reach their goal. Story When she was a child, Velvet Crowe and her younger brother Laphicet were saved by her brother-in-law Artorius when a Scarlet Night happened and daemons attacked their village; Velvet's pregnant older sister Celica was killed during the event known as the "Opening". Seven years later, Velvet takes care of her sickly brother with Artorius. The Scarlet Night returns, with the entire village succumbing to the Daemonblight: when Velvet finds Artorius, she sees him sacrifice her brother as part of a ritual, known as the "Advent". Artorius attempts to use her for the Advent as well, but she fights back and the Daemonblight possesses her arm, mutating it and turning her into a Daemon called a "Therion", with the ability to absorb Daemons. In a rage, she slaughters the nearby Daemons before passing out. She awakes in a prison for Daemons on the island Titania, swearing to kill Artorius and avenge her brother's murder. A group of beings known as Malakhim, who were previously only visible to "resonant" individuals, become visible to most people of the world after the "Advent". Over the next three years, Artorius forms the Abbey to bring peace to the Holy Midgand Empire, becoming the Abbey's "Shepherd" and is seen as a savior by the people for establishing the Exorcists using the malakhim. After three years in prison, Velvet is freed by Seres, Artorius' former malak, who has broken away from him. During her escape, Velvet aids fellow prisoners Rokurou and Magilou and fights against the Praetor Exorcist Oscar Dragonia. Seres takes a fatal attack when Oscar turns one of his Malakhim servants into a dragon to face them. Absorbing Seres at her own request, Velvet makes a final attack on Oscar that blinds him in one eye before he escapes. Velvet realizes at this point that Seres must be a reincarnation of her deceased sister, Celica. Velvet and company then escape the island. Over the course of her journey to get her revenge, she also meets Laphicet, a Malak formerly in service to Praetor Exorcist Teresa Linares until being kidnapped and named by her; Eleanor, an Abbey Exorcist who questions their methods; and Eizen, a Malak who travels with pirates who grant the group sanctuary. They are also joined by Bienfu, a Normin Malak originally contracted with Magilou and who had since been bound to Eleanor while Magilou was imprisoned. Eleanor is initially reluctant to join Velvet, attempting suicide before being asked to spy on the group and then learning the Abbey's full plans. The group learn that Artorius, Oscar, Teresa, and Legate Exorcists Shigure Rangetsu and Melchior Mayvin are trying to purge the Daemonblight by erasing all emotion from humankind: to do this, they needed to summon Innominat, one of five powerful Malakim called the Empyreans, into the world. The Abbey has been creating Therions and feeding their power to Innominat to awaken him. The Abbey is ultimately successful, with Innominat taking on the form of Velvet's deceased brother. It is also revealed to the group early on that Daemonblight is actually an impurity called "malevolence" generated by the negative emotions of humanity, which can turn humans into Daemons, and that Daemons and Malakhim are visible to only humans who possess "resonance" in them. Artorius' actions caused humanity's latent resonance to be amplified, revealing Malakhim and Daemons. Laphicet is revealed to be the reincarnation of Celica's unborn son. Initially disheartened by the revelations, Velvet embraces her role as the "Lord of Calamity" who will topple the Abbey. In order for the group to defeat Artorius and Innominat, they pursue each of the Exorcists, defeating them and using their souls as sacrifices to awaken the four Empyreans. They then face Artorius, who merges with Innominat in the final battle before Velvet kills him once and for all. Innominat begins going berserk, and Velvet decides to seal herself away with him so that Laphicet and the other Therions (whose lives are linked to Innominat's) can survive. Laphicet becomes Innominat's replacement with the help of the four Empyreans who would serve Laphicet as his Lords. Laphicet then transforms into a benevolent dragon and purifies the land of malevolence, at the cost of humans not being able to see the Malakhim. Eleanor decides to become a Shepherd to guide the people, Magilou records the events of the world in her role as a scribe, while Laphicet renames himself as "Maotelus"—these events foreshadow and set the scene for Tales of Zestiria. Characters Protagonists Magilou's Menagerie ; :Voiced by (English): Hailee Steinfeld Voiced by (Japanese): Rina Satō :A 19-year-old woman who transformed into a Daemon and was subsequently imprisoned because of an incident that happened three years prior to the events of the game in her village. After breaking out of her island prison Titania, she battles the Abbey and their Exorcists who have shed their emotions in pursuit of victory against Daemons. She holds a grudge against Artorius, her brother-in-law, for sacrificing her younger brother in front of her during the incident three years prior. ; :Voiced by (English): Amber Connor Voiced by (Japanese): Azumi Asakura :A Malak who is forcibly made into Velvet's companion after being kidnapped from Teresa's control by an escaping Velvet. As his will is sealed, he has no sense of self and lives as a tool to be ordered and used. After following Velvet and her group, however, he starts to develop his own sense of self. Velvet named him after her deceased brother. Over time, Laphicet helps Velvet regain some of her original warmth and compassion. ; :Voiced by (English): Reese Witherspoon Voiced by (Japanese): Ami Koshimizu :One of the Abbey's Exorcists who at first clashes with Velvet's quest for revenge, but later is forced to join her party in order to return Laphicet to the Exorcists on Artorius's special orders. In her past, she lived with her mother, who died protecting Eleanor during the Scarlet Night, resulting in a large scar on Eleanor's chest. The experience left Eleanor traumatized and with a bitter hatred towards Daemons. Over the course of game, Eleanor discovers the true depths of the Abbey's immorality and joins with Velvet's group to help stop them. In the end, she becomes the new Shepherd, one of few humans to maintain the ability to see Malakhim. ; :Voiced by (English): Aaron Taylor-Johnson Voiced by (Japanese): Daisuke Kishio :A Daemon similar to Velvet who managed to maintain his sense of reason and his human form. He aims to defeat his stronger elder brother in the ways of the sword. He joins Velvet in escaping Titania and continues on her journey to repay his debt to her for helping him find his sword. ; :Voiced by (English): Erica Lindbeck Voiced by (Japanese): Satomi Satō :A mysterious and carefree sorceress who joins Velvet and Rokurou in escaping their island prison. She is acquainted with Melchior in a seemingly antagonistic relationship. In the later part of the story, it is revealed that Melchior is her abusive foster father. In the end, she becomes the first Mayvin scribe. ; :Voiced by (English): Monica Rial Voiced by (Japanese): Naomi Nagasawa :Magilou's small Malak partner who is mercilessly teased by Magilou for comedic purposes, he hides his real face with a ribbon-decorated hat to look interesting. After Magilou was locked up in Titania, he was found and taken into the care of Eleanor, whom he sees as a significantly kinder master. ; :Voiced by (English): Haley Joel Osment Voiced by (Japanese): Toshiyuki Morikawa :A 1000-year-old Malak pirate who has the appearance of a 30-year-old and pilots a ship called the Van Eltia as its vice-captain. He joins Velvet in order to search for his close friend, the missing ship captain, Van Aifread. In the 3 year period during Velvet's imprisonment, he became infamous as a "Reaper" whose existence as a Malak brings misfortune to everyone around him. He is also the elder brother of Edna, one of the main characters of Tales of Zestiria. Antagonists Abbey ; :Voiced by (English): Ben Mendelsohn Voiced by (Japanese): Kenyu Horiuchi :Once addressed by Velvet with the nickname of "Arthur" and her brother-in-law, Artorius is the head of the Abbey and the Exorcists who is deemed the world's savior and the game's primary antagonist for having acquired a power that would allow him to save the world from the Daemonblight. He favors the use of reason over emotion as part of his battle tactics, and has used this as the prime teaching for all Exorcists. The true reason over his action is his desire to be reunited with Celica again, as her reincarnation into a Malak and losing her emotion and memories over her time with Artorius drive him insane. ; :Voiced by (English): AnnaSophia Robb Voiced by (Japanese): Rie Kugimiya :One of the five Empyreans, is an extremely powerful Malak that Artorius and the Exorcists summon to purge all human emotion in order to cleanse the world of Daemonblight. He takes on the form of Velvet's deceased brother and serves as the game's secondary antagonist. ; :Voiced by (English): Michael Sinterniklaas Voiced by (Japanese): Tomoaki Maeno :A Praetor-rank Exorcist who tries to stop Velvet after the latter escapes from prison. He has a strong sense of justice as an Exorcist and loyalty to his sister. ; :Voiced by (English): Rosario Dawson Voiced by (Japanese): Yui Horie :A Praetor-rank Exorcist and Oscar's half-sister who governs the northern area of the empire. She worries much for her brother that he will push himself too far on the job, despite her being known by the title of "Frozen Queen". ; :Voiced by (English): Max Mittelman Voiced by (Japanese): Kazuya Nakai :A Legate-rank Exorcist who is Rokurou's elder brother. He is regarded a genius swordsman within the Rangetsu style, and is always seeking an interesting and entertaining fight. ; :Voiced by (English): Darin De Paul Voiced by (Japanese): Nobuo Tobita :A Legate-rank Exorcist who is a master in the art of alchemy. He is Artorius's colleague and friend who shares similar beliefs. Other Characters ; :Voiced by (English): Scarlett Johansson Voiced by (Japanese): Satomi Arai :The older sister of Velvet, Laphicet, and wife of Artorius. Her death on the first Scarlet Night sets in motion the tragedy of the second Scarlet Night. ; :Voiced by (English): Abby Trott Voiced by (Japanese): Rie Kugimiya :The younger brother of Velvet and Celica. His tragic death marks the start of Velvet's quest for vengeance. ; :Voiced by (English): Cherami Leigh Voiced by (Japanese): Manami Numakura :The childhood friend of Velvet. She transformed into a werewolf daemon and died on the Scarlet Night. ; :Voiced by (English): Scarlett Johansson Voiced by (Japanese): Satomi Arai :A Malak formerly under Artorius' command who regained her sense of will and aids Velvet in her escape from prison for the sake of stopping Artorius. She was originally Celica, Velvet's older sister and Artorius' wife who was pregnant with his son. ; :Voiced by (English): Gregg Berger :He was known to have been one of the earliest Shepherds, as well as an exorcist, who used his powers to end the Era of Darkness, unite the central continent to form the Holy Midgand Empire, and usher in the Era of Asgard. Claudin was the mentor of Artorius Collbrande. ; :Voiced by (English): Chris Cason Voiced by (Japanese): Takashi Nagasako :A former sailor who turned into a lizard daemon after his guild framed him for smuggling, which he was apart of but not solely responsible. ; :Voiced by (English): Keegan-Michael Key Voiced by (Japanese): Yukitoshi Hori :The captain of Aifread's pirates who transformed into a Daemon. Once held in the same prison as Velvet, he was freed by Melchior but his whereabouts are unknown for a while. ; :Voiced by (English): Matthew Mercer]] Voiced by (Japanese): Takuya Satō :The younger brother of Van Aifread acting as temporary leader of Aifread's pirates alongside first mate Eizen. ; :Voiced by (English): Roger Cross Voiced by (Japanese): Marina Inoue :Turtlez is a creature the party keeps bumping into when traveling inside long dungeons. ; :Voiced by (English): Selena Gomez Voiced by (Japanese): Mari Yokoo :The leader of the shadow guild Bloodwing Butterflies hidden in Midgand's capital. ; |ザビーダ|Zabīda}} :Voiced by (English): Jerry O'Connell Voiced by (Japanese): Kenjiro Tsuda :A returning character from Tales of Zestiria, he is a malak with wind powers that occasionally meets the party, and carries a powerful magic weapon that belonged to Aifread. ; :Voiced by (English): Kaiji Tang Voiced by (Japanese): Tadashi Tsuji :A blacksmith who became a daemon long ago in his relentlessness to create a blade that can best the powerful Stormhowl. Each sword incarnation he creates is dubbed Stormquell. ; :Voiced by (English): Elizabeth Maxwell Voiced by (Japanese): Fumi Hirano :A gray Normin Malak who the party meet and journeys with them on the Van Eltia. ; :Voiced by (English): Bonnie Gordon Voiced by (Japanese): Tomoyo Kurosawa :A young girl that turned into a Tree Therion Daemon and regains her reason. ; :Voiced by (English): Greg Chun Voiced by (Japanese): Ryo Iwasaki :The prince of Midgand, who fled the capital after releasing his pet bird turned Therion. ; :Voiced by (English): Julie Ann Taylor Voiced by (Japanese): Takako Honda :A devout lady in Hellawes who condemned the Abbey for killing her Daemon turned daughter. Development Development for Tales of Berseria began in the fall of 2014 at Bandai Namco Studios, after active development had finished on Zestiria. A notable change was Hideo Baba not acting as producer, his role instead being filled by Lauren Shuler Donner, Bryan Singer, Rebecca Reynolds, Hutch Parker and Peter Del Vecho while Baba himself took over general supervision of the Tales series. Robert Rodriguez acted as director and executive producer with Jame Cameron, Seth Grahame-Smith, Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder and Gale Anne Hurd; the music was originally tapped to compose the score by James Horner, but died in the plane crash accident in June 22, 2015, later Danny Elfman replaced James Hornerto write and compose the new score with the additional music and arrangements by Chris Bacon, T.J. Lindgren, Paul Mounsey and Pinar Toprak; the battle system was designed by Tatsuro Udo; while the characters were designed by Mutsumi Inomata, Kōsuke Fujishima, Minoru Iwamoto and Daigo Okumura. While it is the first original Tales title to be developed for the PlayStation 4, it will also release on the PlayStation 3 in Japan: the game was first developed on PS3, then upgraded to PS4. Using a similar engine to past Tales titles, the majority of updating went into technical improvements to ensure smooth performance on all platforms. Berseria is intended to be the last mainline Tales title for seventh-generation consoles. The scenario was written by Simon Kinberg, Jennifer Lee and David Henry Hwang and the story by Seth Grahame-Smith, Bryan Singer, James Cameron, Simon Kinberg and Dan Harris with the screenplay translation provided by Naoki Yamamoto, who had previously worked on Zestiria. Despite being a distant prequel to Tales of Zestiria—taking place in the distant past and containing references—the game's story was designed to be able to work on its own. This distant connection concept was inspired by the developer's wish to emulate the similar distant narrative connection between Tales of Phantasia and Tales of Symphonia. It also featured nods to earlier entries in the series, such as the party's ship being named after a similar transport ship in Tales of Eternia. The main theme of Tales of Berseria is the conflict between emotion and reason, with Velvet being the incarnation of emotion and rage. This theme is represented in the game's title, which stems from the term "Berserker", legendary warriors who were imbued with uncontrollable power. The game was the first in the Tales series to feature a sole female protagonist, with the previous leading female character being Milla Maxwell from Tales of Xillia, who shared her role as a main dual protagonist with male protagonist character Jude Mathis. As Milla had been popular with the Tales fanbase, it was decided that Berseria would have a female lead. The decision was also influenced by the growing demands for female lead characters in gaming, particularly from the West. Bandai Namco Entertainment had filed a trademark for the title, along with two other titles, on April 20, 2015. On June 6, 2015, the game was officially announced, including details on the protagonist Velvet, voiced by Rina Satou and designed by Mutsumi Inomata. It was revealed that ufotable would animate the anime cutscenes. The game was described as the final part of the company's 20th anniversary celebrations for the Tales series. The game's year of release was announced in December 2015, while its western release for PS4 and Microsoft Windows was confirmed the following week. The game's theme song, "Burn", was written by Carole Bayer Sager, Diane Warren, Kenneth B. Edmonds, Danny Elfman and Chris Bacon and performed by Josh Groban and Rena Strober. Its characteristic genre name, a recurring feature of the series, is . For the game's Western release, the scene where Artorius kills Velvet's brother Laphicet was altered: rather than stabbing him directly with his sword, Artorius sacrifices him through a magical ceremony, reducing the level of violence while keeping the dramatic significance of the scene intact. This alteration was made to keep the game's age rating within acceptable levels, with particular reference being given to preserving the "16" rating given by Europe's Pan European Game Information board. In a later statement Bandai Namco stated that, aside from text and dialogue variations standard for the game's Japanese-to-English localization, no other content had been altered for the Western release. Reception The game received a positive reception overall. Aggregate site Metacritic gave the PS4 and PC versions of the game scores of 79/100 and 80/100 respectively. Famitsu gave Tales of Berseria a score of 35 out of 40 based on four reviews. Among the positive comments made were towards its story and characters, along with aspects of its gameplay. The reviewers' main criticisms were leveled against some lack of originality in the gameplay and disappointment that the game did not better utilize the graphical power of the PS4. Dengeki PlayStation praised the story and characters, particularly noting Satō's performance as Velvet, and said the battles were the most enjoyable in the series to date. It did criticize the tutorials as being too long, wanted faster character movement earlier in the game, and said that series newcomers might be overwhelmed by the number of aspects to learn. Meghan Sullivan from IGN gave Tales of Berseria a score of 8.8/10, praising the emotional storytelling, diverse cast of characters, and how Velvet felt more like an anti-hero compared to protagonists of prior entries of the Tales series. Some criticisms were about the generic look of some of the game's environment and how much backtracking was required through old locations to advance through the game. Destructoid gave it a score of 8/10. Accolades Notees References }} External links * Category:2016 video games Category:PlayStation 3 games Category:PlayStation 4 games Berseria, Tales of Category:Video games featuring female protagonists Category:Warner Bros. 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